pregnancy series

Hi all! Remember I mentioned that Andy and I went thrifting in Shimokitazawa last Saturday? This is the skirt I scored for $6. Satomi’s post about color evaluation (her blog is in Japanese) got me thinking about the color I use to create my wardrobe. According to her, she went to a therapist where she was told what color best  best suits an individual depending on their facial features, skin tones, hair color etc. I do not have money to blow on the therapy session, but I revisited my closet to find out that my wardrobe consists of…mostly black, gray, purple and blue. I do not have anything orange, or yellow. Orange and yellow are not my favorite colors, but I felt like a such a boring person wearing purple all the time. As for yellow, I’m consciously avoiding to wear yellow, since I feel like it matches with my skin tone too much. But perhaps I can go for different shades of yellow, such as lemon or mustard? Anyway, so when I found this bright orange skirt with yellow and teal tulip print on it for $6, I had to jump on it!

A problem I soon discovered was the waist size. It measures out as 66cm. There is no way that I fit in this skirt comfortably being 34 weeks pregnant! Although, on a side note a 66cm waist is the measurement I want to get back to after the delivery.

And, last but not least for today’s post.  My darling friend Kaitlyn sent me the precious clothes! I can’t wait to dress up my babe with these clothes!

Hi! Last week I posted about getting pregnancy photos taken by our friend Photographer Will Robb. The photos are ready now and I wanted to share some here! These were taken when I was 31 weeks. I have 100+ more photos but the ones above are my favorites:)

Andy and I both enjoyed the photo shoot. Will and his wife, Sue came over to our apartment with all the equipment, and set up a shop here. Obviously I’m not a professional model so I usually get pretty nervous in front of camera, but I really felt at home while he was taking the pictures. The shoot lasted for about 5 hours, but the time flew!

I love how the photos came out and it is really nice to have something to remember this time in my life.

So, I’ve been reading a book called “Making children mind without loosing yours” by Dr. Kevin Leman for the second time. The book was passed down from my grandmother-in-law to my mother-in-law to me. I read it when I was about 18 weeks, and now I’m getting close to the end of the pregnancy, I decided to read it again. So whenever I take a long bath, I take the book with me and read it in the bath.

I’ve noticed that I have a different feeling reading this book for the second time now. For instance, in the beginning of the book, Leman talks about how his doctor gave him advice about leaving the baby with a baby sitter for a couple of hours every week in order to take his wife on a date without the baby.  He discusses how this system worked worked well for both he and his wife, and (amazingly) the baby in the long run. He writes that it was really hard for him at first, but it helped a lot in order to maintain a strong love relationship between he and his wife. This, in turn, helped both of them to become stronger parents.  Quality time alone as a couple leads to quality  time together as parents.

Leman wonders what would have happened if he did not take the advice given him and instead restricted his entire life around a little baby… He strongly holds that if he had done this that the baby would not have grown up to be as responsible and disciplined as she is now.

When I first read this, I was thinking, “leaving a baby for a few hours? This won’t be hard for me! I want to go out and take a break sometime and I can have my mom come over to watch the baby”. But now when I re-read the same thing, I wonder if I can actually do this. I feel so attached to the baby already and leaving the baby just for a few hours sounds like a real big deal. It’s strange how my feelings and attitude have changed over the past couple of months.  I feel the baby move and I’m looking forward to her coming every day.

Anyway, although it may be hard for me, I want to try to leave the baby for a few hours each week to go out with Andy.  I plan to make a conscious effort to do this even if it feels scary. Perhaps starting on my birthday, which is 10 days after my estimated due date. It will be hard I am sure, but I think it will help my whole family in the long run.

Any opinion? If you are a parent, do you find it hard to leave your baby to someone else?

P.S. Last day to enter the cut out dress giveaway! The winner will be picked and announced tomorrow:)

I snapped these photos after I came back from running some errands today. Thank God for the easily accessible self-timer and remote! I lost my remote a while ago, but happened to find it under the couch while I was cleaning. I’m happy that I didn’t rush and buy a new one :p

While I was running some errands, I could not resist the temptation to stop at Mister Donuts. I don’t know if you have Mister Donuts in your country, but it’s awesome. I like Crispy Creame and Dunkin Donuts, but they cannot even compare to Mister Donuts.   Mister Donuts’ donuts are not too sweet and have a terrific soft chewy texture.  Some of them are really fun, they come in the shape of bears or lions  And most come have a whipped cream filling and are covered in chocolate. As I said, I picked one up today and was chowing down while browsing through a shoe store. Then….. I saw myself in the mirror.  I really looked pregnant! Round face, big belly and a donuts in hand. It was quite comical.

I had a doctor’s check up earlier this week, and the baby is doing well. She is estimated to weight 2200 grams now. Since she got big, she cannot fit in one screen for the ultra-sound, and her picture has to be divided in two.

We received some gifts for the baby from our excited family:
My mom made this cute pouch with strawberry zipper charm. I think it would be perfect to carry some small items, like pacifiers?

 From my mother-in-law: some head clips and head bands in different pastel colors. I love little baby girl’s head bands, especially on bald head babies. I wonder if my baby will be born with a lot of black hair like other Asian babies, or be bald..

 More clothes…

 I finally put up the castle decal on  the wall. The nursery still does not look all that exciting.  Hopefully Andy and I can get some more decorating done.

Finally here is a short “behind the scenes” clip from our maternity photo shoot. We had the photos taken at 31 weeks, and are waiting for the finished products – I really can’t wait to see them myself and show you here!